Accidental Racist

Brad Paisley is mad as hell. “I’m not going to take this anymore,” he attests to The Associated Press in an article posed on Monday (9-1). He later goes on to declare, “It’s not fair.” What is Brad not going to take anymore? What is not fair? According to Paisley, it’s not fair that he got jobbed by the criticism of his song “Accidental Racist” from last year. And now the critics are being unfair…

The occasion of Brad Paisley’s new album release finds the singer and guitar player at a crossroads in his career. The three-time CMA Male Vocalist of the Year and a man responsible for over 12 million records sold is in that precarious position of an artist trying to hold on to his mainstream prominence as the young pups all around are nipping at his heels…

LL Cool J, along with CBS’s NCIS: Los Angeles co-star Chris O’Donnell, are scheduled to host the April 7th “ACM Presents: An All-Star Salute to the Troops” that will be taped the day after the ACM Awards, and be aired on May 20th. The question is, was there not a country music personality that would be better suited for this special?

“Achy Breaky 2” allows us once again to face the new music dilemma of whether a song is successful despite being bad, or because of it, and what this could mean for the future of music. Because of the amount of YouTube views “Achy Breaky 2” achieved, the song debuted at #11 on Billboard’s Hot Rap songs chart, and #16 on the Streaming Songs chart.

So here you go ladies and gentlemen, the worst of the worst that 2013 had to offer in country music. As you might suspect, a list of mainstream country’s worst misdeeds in 2013 is mostly populated by an ear-serrating cacophony of country rap songs. With only a couple of exceptions, country rap has replaced what last year at this time was a parade of laundry list-themed songs.

As you might suspect, at the halfway point of 2013 a list of mainstream country’s worst misdeeds is mostly populated by an ear-serrating cacophony of country rap. With only a couple of exceptions, country rap has replaced what last year at this time was a parade of laundry list-themed songs. Country rap has become the next devolving plateau in mainstream country.

All of a sudden hip-hop influences are dominating the top of the country music charts, asserting just as much influence, if not more than indigenous country influences, with a bevy of new country rap tunes from numerous artists ready to be released, and mainstream artists lining up to try and be a part of the trend. How did country music get here?

One problem with Billboard’s new system, and many digital metrics we use to gauge popularity these days, is their ability to measure intent. One of the new paradigms of digital music is that sometimes songs are not popular because people like them, they’re popular because people don’t. It’s not uncommon these days for a song to become heavily buzzed, and a viral event to ensue because of either the curiosity or car crash factor.

Saving Country Music has learned that another superstar duo is planning their own culture-blending song to capitalize off of the “Accidental Racist” publicity. Country’s King George Strait, and world-renown Spanish actress, singer, and flamenco guitar player Charo have teamed up to tackle the immigration issue in a new song reportedly to be called “Incidental Isolationist.”

I don’t care what the intentions of this song are. And I’ll give you that it’s well-written, including LL Cool J’s rapping parts. And I’m not just saying that as a positioning point. Because despite the optimism this song attempts to convey, “Accidental Racist” also conveys a level of judgementalism and reaffirmation of stereotypes that many people don’t appreciate.